


Voices of the Heart

by anamatics



Series: Minutes [5]
Category: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon (TV)
Genre: Angst, Drama, F/F, Past Lives, Past Relationship(s), Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-04-19
Updated: 2011-04-19
Packaged: 2017-10-18 09:34:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 14,672
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/187481
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anamatics/pseuds/anamatics
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>PGSM Post-series. Rei's memories of the past life have returned and a chance meeting with Minako at the airport on the way back from a business trip to China leads to some interesting revelations.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Voices of the Heart

They pretend it never happened, but really they all know that it did. A simple parting of ways that forces them to move from forward to back once again and they have no idea what they're doing once more.

Perhaps it is better this way, for the memories of the past have only served to hurt everyone far more deeply than they'd ever thought possible.

And the memories of _that night_ are better left untouched.

It's too painful.

Still, the planes come in and out of the airport every day like clockwork, and just this once, fate has decided to intervene.

Aino Minako catches sight of the tall, stunning woman standing near the baggage claim conveyor belt as soon as she disembarks from the plane. She's back in Tokyo for a few days now, in from a show in Kobe, and she was hoping that she could finally get in touch with the rest of her friends for a well-deserved and long-needed get-together. Still, she does not expect to see _her_ of all people tapping her foot impatiently as she waits for the baggage from her flight to come in.

Minako hides a smile and makes her way towards the baggage claim, telling herself that she needs to go there anyway, to collect her own bags. This is so typical of their relationship, a nondescript and entirely random meeting that will only serve to amuse one and aggravate the other.

They're standing next to each other, carefully not looking at each other. A subtle tensing of the tall woman's shoulders tells Minako that Mars has sensed her presence. Perhaps it is not so much that they are _not_ looking at each other, but rather that they are, with careful scrutiny born from years of practice. Mars will not make the first move; Minako has to do that, for Hino Rei is far too stubborn, too proud, to bend to the pressure of social graces.

"Where are you coming from, Mars Reiko-san?" Minako asks quietly, her voice low, intimate. It was her manager's grand scheme for her to travel like this, in business class and alone, for she was safer when she was on her own. When she was alone, she could blend with the aid of sunglasses and a few changes in the way that she arranged her hair. Now it was done up in a sloppy bun that drew attention away from her face and to her hair. No one would look twice at this girl with the frumpy hair and old sundress.

Rei exhales quietly, as if to calm her nerves. "I wish you would stop calling me that," She turns to face Minako then, an annoyed look – a _grimace_ really – crossing her face. It doesn't suit her, Minako thinks, for she's far too beautiful for her face to look so angry. "It's not my name."

Minako smiles, for they're beginning their game as though it had never ended. She likes it when that happens, for it's easier to forget that they've fallen apart and out of touch over the years. "Reiko-san, you know that I will always call you by that name." Her baggage, a small black suitcase comes around the circle and she steps forward to pull it off the circular conveyor belt. She sets it down on the ground and adjusts the strap so that she can pull it behind her. "It suits you, Mars."

Rei shakes her head, her shaggy hair cut falling into her eyes as she tries to hide an annoyed smile. Her hair is longer now, falling down her back and playing around her neck as though it's caught in the wind. Minako rather likes it like that, and she has to resist the urge to lean forward and brush Rei's bangs out of her eyes. There was a time and place for that, and it was not now. "You always insist on your way, don't you, Venus?"

Minako's grin widens, "I wouldn't be me if I didn't."

Rei's hand shoots out and her fingers close around a small duffle bag's shoulder strap. She slings it over her shoulder and they fall into pace beside each other, without even thinking about it.

"So you're back?" Rei asks after a few minutes of silent, easy companionship, "For good this time?"

"I don't know." Minako says, shrugging. "It all depends on this new record and the accompanying tour." Her gaze and smile turn devilish as she turns to stare at Rei, "Did you miss me, Reiko-san?"

Rei huffs and looks away. "Don't ask such foolish things."

Minako looks at Rei and wonders where her Reiko is under all that awkward girl - _beautiful woman_ \- who doesn't remember the past life. It would do Rei well to remember the past, Minako thinks, for Rei is always confused by Minako's actions towards her. The memories from then would help to make the actions seem worthwhile and not completely random to Rei.

They continue on in silence, reliving the happy and the painful moments of their shared interaction. Rei's heels click on the airport's floor and Minako's sandals tap against the soles of her feet in time.

This is their own music.

They pass through another security check point and Minako finds herself thinking back to the events of the long-forgotten past. Not the past life, but just the past. The memories of the nights where she'd insisted on spending far more time with Rei that was perhaps socially acceptable were some of her most treasured, and Minako knew that she would never feel for someone the way that she felt for Rei on those nights.

Especially when their one moment of weakness had shoved them head first into almost three years of limited (at best) communication.

Minako's lips still burn with the memory of that night. She raises a hand to touch them, wondering why Rei's _foolish, drunken_ wonderful kiss still manages to evoke such feelings within her.

"Where are you staying?" Rei asks suddenly as she glares at the security officer who's currently taking far too much time passing her carry-on though the x-ray scanner. He scowls back at her and sends it through, Rei collecting her cell phone and keys from the little plastic tray and her bag from the conveyer belt.

Minako thinks that she looks the part of the harassed, and yet stunning CEO; her suit is clinging to her in such a way that the strap of her duffle bag over one shoulder just seems to draw attention to the very feminine figure hiding under the black linen suit jacket. Minako taps her chin thoughtfully as they continue on their way, it was never really a question that they would be leaving together, and sharing a taxi, most like. Spending the night together, however, seems a little forward, even for Mars Reiko. "I'm sure my manager booked me a hotel," she responds at length, her tone and face as even as she can make them. She cannot let it slip that she wants to spend the night somewhere other than the pristine and sterile beds that she usually sleeps in.

She doesn't want the unfamiliarity and the cold shoulder right now.

"Cancel it."

"Mars?" Minako responds more out of habit that actual implication. Whenever Rei does something like this, the lines between herself and the girl that Minako remembers from the past life seem to blur to the point of where it's impossible to tell who is speaking to her. Minako cannot trust herself to say anything else, for any other name would fall out of her lips the way that a lover says a name. It's not a risk she wants to take, just yet.

Rei pauses, annoyance flickering across her face before the stony mask of no emotion at all falls back into place. "You don't need a hotel in town, you have friends here." She looked uncertain for a moment, before adding, as if for emphasis, " _I'm_ here."

Minako doesn't say anything for a moment, and watches as Rei flips her hair over her shoulder and stares at her expectantly. It was as if her Reiko was back once more, expecting her to rise to the challenge.

Still she hesitates, for the first time in a long while feeling very uncertain. She could go along with Rei's plan and simply crash on Rei's couch. She's done it in the past, staying with Ami or Makoto; and no one seemed to mind that much, but this is _Mars_ who's asking her. The added complications are almost too much for her. She can't stand the idea that she might be caught off guard, that she might have to hold herself back and prevent herself from making a fool of them both.

"I don't know, Rei," she says, not meeting Rei's expectant gaze, "Given our past record, this could be a very bad idea."

Rei glares at her, and reaches out to take Minako's hand in her own. They're almost out of the airport now, and no one thinks to look twice at the two women as they carry on their conversation. Minako is grateful that no one has noticed her so far, for her powers of disguise are not that great. She usually encountered a few more observant fans on these trips through the airport, but this journey had been thankfully silent.

Perhaps it is because Rei seems to ooze an aura of distant, unapproachable beauty. The aura that says that if you come near her, or her companions, that she will hurt you.

"You're coming with me," Rei grunts, her palm sweaty against Minako's. Minako wonders how nervous she is, for Rei never, ever, gets flustered about anything.

She sighs and shrugs, interlacing her fingers with Rei's. "Alright then, Rei, let's go." She's gong to have to call her manager later, but she's sure he'll understand. He usually does when it comes to her friendship with Hino Rei.

Rei's smile is entrancing, and Minako finds herself unable to look away. There is something dancing just behind her eyes that puts Minako on edge, something that she almost doesn't dare to hope for, the tell-tale glint of stormy emotions that Minako herself is plagued with. If Rei is feeling them too, then perhaps they can finally get to the end of these long, drawn out conversations, and finally talk about something important. There is something in that storm of emotions that makes Minako think that Rei wants to say something more and she waits expectantly for the words to finally work their way out of Rei's thick skull.

"I don't know Mina," Rei says with a drawl and a drawn out wicked smile, "it could be fun."

Minako starts, almost losing her grip on her suitcase, wondering when Rei started calling her by that _very_ private nickname. It wasn't something that Rei had ever remembered – or done - in the past, and during the battles, Minako had been hard-pressed to get Rei to call her anything other than 'Venus'.

 _How far we've come…_ Minako thinks to herself, pushing back the private memories of the past that only she remembered. Artemis had told her that the chances of Rei and the others ever fully recovering their memories of the past life were slip, and Minako had long since given up hope of ever having someone to talk to about what had happened then. There was still so much left unresolved, and Minako hates being forced to pretend that everything was alright. "Like old times, ne?"

"Perhaps," Rei's smile is mysterious and her tone hints that she knows more than she's letting on. Minako wonders what she's thinking briefly as they fall back into step again. She's so out of touch with everyone now that she wouldn't be surprised if there was something more that Rei was trying to say.

They leave the airport and Rei hails a cab with the ease of one who has done it more times than she can count. Minako just stands passively by as Rei takes her baggage from her and shoves it into the cab's trunk. She throws her own bag on top of Minako's suitcase and helps Minako into the car almost without seeming to think about it. Minako is not used to this image of Rei; the quiet, gallant type doesn't really suit her.

Perhaps it did once, long ago, when Minako was in desperate need of saving. Rei had been her knight in shining, fiery armor then too, telling her to live for herself and not for Venus, just this once. To get the surgery that would kill her on the off chance that she might actually be saved.

Minako missed that Rei.

She didn't know this new Rei very well, just little fragments of interaction here and there at events and reunions. They never really talked other than that, it was just too painful for them both to remember everything that had happened to them. _Yes_ , Minako told herself quietly, _that is it._

Rei clambered in behind her and slammed the door shut before the cab's automatic door could close it. She ignores the driver's odd looks in their direction and barks out an address and the route to it.

"We're not going to the jinja?" Minako asks with a note of confusion creeping into her voice. She doesn't remember a time when Rei didn't live in that place, so far removed from the city around her. She'd been a young shrine maiden back then, when they'd first met, and Minako had always assumed that she would continue on that path.

What did Rei do for a living now, anyways? Minako thinks that Usagi, in one of her many letters, might have mentioned that Rei was working for the government like her father, but that didn't seem right. From what Minako had seen of _that_ relationship, there was no way that Rei would follow in his footsteps without a fight.

Rei shakes her head, "I don't live there anymore. I moved out when I finished college." She has a strange look on her face, and Minako cannot read it.

"Oh." She says, looking foolishly at her hands. They're clenched in her lap around the loose straps of her purse. "I didn't know." She's been out of touch for too long and the fact of that matter is suddenly very apparent to her. How can she not know something like that about Rei, perhaps her closest friend?

They fall silent again, the city flying by outside the window as the cab driver's quiet sports broadcast chatters harmlessly in the background.

Minako chews her lip, wondering how to break the ice, to say that she's sorry for being insensitive. She doesn't know how to tell Rei that she's sorry for neglecting their friendship, but she has to say _something_. The silence is making her nervous.

"What are you thinking?" Rei asks quietly, her gaze intently focused on the window. Minako wonders if she's mad, or if Rei is just trying to break the ice and start conversation in the only way they seem to be able to. Direct, curt demands, followed by a concise answer; it's no way to talk to people. Minako knows that she'd trained Rei to do it since their first meeting, but she never thought that Rei would continue to adhere to the strange pseudo-friendship that they'd formed all those years ago.

Minako looks away from Rei before she answers; she doesn't that it would do her well to stare. "That I was just rather rude."

Rei turns to look at her, confusion crossing her face in one of those adorable faces that Minako always finds herself teasing Rei for making. Her face is so expressive, she can't hide her emotions nearly as well as she thinks she can, and Minako loves to point that flaw in Rei's otherwise impenetrable defense to her as often as she can. "Oh." She shrugs, "I hadn't noticed."

"You're too hard-headed, Mars Reiko-san." Minako grins. Her face turns serious as she meets Rei's gaze as evenly as she can. She thinks that she might be blushing, but her cheeks don't feel nearly hot enough for it to be noticeable under her tan and make-up. "I've been out of touch with you all for too long."

She is the leader of the Sailor Senshi, and she knows that one day they will be called to arms once more. Still, Minako maintains the fact that she wants to live her life to the absolute fullest that she can. She does not think that Rei, nor Usagi if she really thought about it, would ever forgive her for not making the absolute best of the second chance at life she'd been given.

Still, living has taken its toll on Minako's personal life. Her letters to and from Usagi are few and far between, and she can count on one hand the number of times that she's actually been able to spend time with her friends in longer periods than just a quick get-together for dinner someplace fancy. Usagi's wedding, Makoto's wedding, Ami's medical school graduation, that time they all went to the beach, Christmas last year…

The list seems to fall flat, judging by the fact that all of those events have happened over the course of the almost ten years that have passed since the final battle. They're all adults now, and Minako wonders if perhaps they simply do not have time for the friendships formed in childhood any longer.

Rei doesn't say anything in response to Minako's statement about being out of touch, and Minako wonders if it's Rei's way of punishing her for not being more active in preserving their friendship. She doesn't have long to ponder this most recent thought, however, for the taxi pulls up in front of a non-descript apartment complex. Rei pays the driver and holds the door open for Minako before going and collecting their luggage from the trunk. As the cab speeds away, Minako finds herself looking around.

This is not the sort of place that she would expect to find Hino Rei. It is tall – easily twenty or thirty stories - and industrial, with very little traditional décor that she'd always assumed that Rei was partial to. A few potted shrubs were placed at the entrance to the building, and a rather harassed-looking doorman was waiting for them to come to the door.

"Come on," Rei says, pulling her duffle bag over her shoulder. She doesn't take Minako's hand again, and Minako finds herself wishing that she would. It would be nice, she thinks, to hold hands like they had in the airport. Instead, the former fire senshi grabs Minako's suitcase and adjusts the handle so that she can pull it behind her with ease.

Minako finds her mouth opening, trying to say something, anything, to prevent Rei from acting like her personal servant. The words will not come, and she stands there for a minute with her mouth open, trying to find the right words. Rei does wait for her to pull herself together, however, and strides towards the door.

The doorman smiles at Rei and Minako finds herself hurrying to catch up with her friend.

"How was China?" the man asks.

"Fine," Rei says curtly, walking through the door, Minako close on her heels.

"China, Rei?" Minako asks as they stop in front of the metal doors of the elevator. She's finally found her voice again and she's glad for that, for being speechless has never suited her needs. "What were you doing there?" She's curious as to what Rei could have been up to in a place like China, but she can't come out and say that, for her curiosity makes Rei clam up in that adorable way that Minako finds so endearingly frustrating.

The elevator dings and Rei steps inside, turning to face Minako with a scowl. "Working," she says.

Minako thinks that _that_ was obvious, but Rei doesn't want to elaborate, and so she steps into the elevator as well. The doors close and suddenly they are very much alone.

They're standing side by side, their shoulders just barely touching. This is the level of closeness that Minako is most used to when it comes to Rei, for they're always together, just a step away from being intimate. In this proximity, Minako can see a gentle flush across Rei's cheeks and she wonders what is bothering her friend. Rei's breath is coming in shallow gasps, barely enough to fill her lungs, as though she's trying desperately to calm herself down.

"Rei?" Minako asks, bringing a hesitant hand up to touch the other woman's shoulder. It is with that touch, the simply hand on a shoulder, that they've crossed the line from close companionship to intimacy. Minako likes it, for being this close to Rei is soothing to her tired mind, and Rei never really seems to mind when they cross the line in private.

Still, this is closer than Minako has been to, well, anyone, in a long time. She can't think straight and the quiet thump of Rei's duffle bag falling to the floor is completely lost on her as she stands there, lost in this feeling of being close to someone once more.

Almost as suddenly as Minako spaced out, she finds herself brought back to reality with a jolt that she was not expecting. Rei has her pressed up against the cool steel of the elevator wall, her lips burning a fiery trail along Minako's neck. Minako shivers under the attention, as sudden and unexpected as it is. She hadn't thought Hino Rei capable of doing something so delightfully impulsive, and she's happy that Rei finally is acting on the unspoken sexual tension between the two of them.

"Rei…ko," Minako gasps. She can't think straight. She's wanted this for so long and now it is finally happening and she can't even work her hands enough to pull Rei's mouth away from her neck so that they can kiss properly. She feels Rei's hands dance lower on her back and she grinds out; "What?"

Rei's eyes are hazy as she meets Minako's gaze, and her voice is distant. She leans forward, closer than Minako has ever been with another human in this life, and whispers into Minako's ear. "You are always talking about the past life, Mina, but you haven't asked if our memories of the past live had returned since Usagi came back."

Minako has no words, her mind has flown into overdrive and she can't slow it down. The words, she thinks, are lost somewhere between Rei's hot breath in her ear and the hands that are now toying with the hem of her sundress. She tries to find a way to force the words to come out, but they stubbornly refuse to come. Venus Minako, it seems, is finally at a loss for words.

Aino Minako, however, will not back down from a challenge like this. She rests her hands on Rei's shoulders and pushes her away gently. Rei is not herself, Minako knows this, and she knows that Rei will hate herself when she realizes what she's done. Minako has to stop this before something happens that they both will regret.

Her tone is even when she speaks, and Minako can feel the desire cooling under Rei's smoldering gaze. "I thought that you'd say something, Rei. You were always running to me with your questions about the past life, I assumed that you'd tell me when your memories returned.

The elevator tings. They've arrived on Rei's floor.

Rei backs away from Minako and picks up her duffle bag from the floor and grabs Minako's suitcase. She looks as though she wants to say something, but the haze is gone from her eyes and Minako can see that Rei is suddenly back to being herself.

Together they head down the hallway and Rei fumbles for her keys. "I'm sorry," she says quietly as she slides the key into the lock. "I… don't know what came over me."

Minako can see that she's mortified by her actions, and the singer has no idea how to console Rei. She's never done something like this; she has no experience to draw on. She doesn't know to say that she liked the attention and would love it if Rei continued it at some point in the near future. She stays silent because she has no words, no idea what she can say to Rei to make the situation better.

Rei pushes the door open, and allows Minako to go in before she closes the door and slides the chain into place. Minako wonders if this is done on purpose, of it Rei just does it out of habit.

They're walking on eggshells now and Minako can not think of a good way to break the silence between them. She takes off her hat and sunglasses and follows Rei's example in removing her shoes. Suddenly, they're the same height again. Rei is out of her fuck-me pumps and has lost the three-inch edge that she had over Minako's flat bottomed sandals. Minako rather likes the heels, but she steadfastly refuses to say anything to Rei about how much they accent her leg line and how beautiful she looks in her business attire.

She sits down next to Rei on the sofa and rather pointedly, again, does not look at her. Not looking, Minako realizes, is her way of looking quite intently at Rei. It is when she does not look that she can finally see what's really going on in Rei's head. She likes it better that way, for the not looking helps her to focus her thoughts without becoming distracted, as she always inevitably does, by the stunning beauty of Hino Rei.

Minako remembers meeting the girl for the first time, in a church of all places, and how Rei's beauty had struck her then as absolutely stunning. Learning that she was Mars, and that she'd loved Mars Reiko in a past life had almost taken a second seat to that meeting the church, when Minako realized just _how_ attracted she was to this girl.

"Rei," Minako starts, her gaze intently fixed on the corner of the room. She's looking at a low chest of drawers with a few trinkets and photographs that Minako recognizes from her few past forays into Rei's bedroom at the Jinja all those years ago.

"Don't-" Rei mutters. Out of the corner of her eye, Minako can see that Rei's head is turned in the direction opposite her own gaze.

Minako sighs and turns to face Rei, pulling up her legs and sitting cross-legged on the couch. She adjusts her skirt for a moment, and the reaches out to pull on Rei's shoulder.

Rei stiffens under her touch and Minako can barely keep the hurt from her voice as she forces herself to chose her words as carefully as she can. She doesn't want to scare Rei off, but she wants Rei to tell her what the heck just happened. She goes for direct, for Rei always has responded well to curt, military-like address. Minako guesses that it's a carry-over from either her father in this life or the past one; she can't decide. "I'm serious, Rei. What was that?"

"I… don't know. Her – Mars Reiko's – memories are so powerful that I sometimes lose control." Rei won't look at Minako. "I'm sorry…"

Minako touches Rei's cheek, "I know, Rei, believe me, I know." She does know, for when she first realized who Hino Rei was, she could hardly control herself in her want for Rei to remember the past as well. She tried _everything_ she could think of, but nothing would make Mars' memories return.

She remembers feeling powerless to fight against destiny, and her decision to simply give up once and for all. She'd been ready to die for their cause, but the memories of Mars Reiko only seemed to make the situation feel so much worse. Suddenly she couldn't even interact with her chosen comrade without being plagued with memories of that girl that she should not have had.

The memories were a curse, a burden that Minako would not have wished on anyone. She begged Rei and the others to remember, but she could feel that her heart was not really in her words. She knew that she would not wish horrors of the past life on anyone, for the memories, it seemed where hers alone to bear.

Still, the idea that Rei has remembered the past life is an intriguing concept. Finally, Minako will have someone to talk to about what happened back then. There are so many things that she has stored in the back of her mind that she does not really understand. There are some incidents where the past life that make about as much sense as some of the more idiotic things that Usagi says when she gets excited about something.

The silence is growing unbearable, but Minako will not pull her hand away from Rei's cheek. She can't, for there is a force holding it there that Minako had quite forgotten about in the long months that have passed since she last saw Rei. There is an almost electric sort of magnetism between the two of them, and Minako will not deny her instincts when it comes to chancing physical contact with the one she loves.

They're staring into each other's eyes, and Minako can see the uncertainty and worry in Rei's gaze. There are no words that Minako can say to Rei to make the uneasiness go away – for Minako knows that the same uncertainty is clearly written across her own face. Minako has gotten good had hiding her emotions over the years, but she knows that she's somewhat of an open book when it comes to Rei. Especially now, when emotions are running high and Rei has already surprised her once today.

Rei sighs, "How do you combat that?" She leans into Minako's hand, a slight blush on her cheeks.

Minako pulls her hand away slowly. She's not sure who she's talking to again, and she doesn't want to risk doing anything to potentially alienate Rei further.

"You get used to it. That's all I can really tell you. The memories fade in intensity until they sort of just meld together with your own memories from this life." Minako chews on her lip and tries to think of something more that she can say. Nothing comes to mind, and she knows that this is probably because her own memories still flare up at random times. She doesn't know what comes after acceptance.

Silence. The minutes tick away and Minako finds herself squirming again. She wonders why Rei won't say anything, but she knows that the silence is just another part of their relationship. They don't have anything to say to each other, so they don't talk. It's the rule of their friendship that they've both been adhering to since the past life, thousands of years ago.

"I'm going to go change." Rei announces, standing up suddenly and leaving Minako alone on the couch.

Minako smiles brightly at Rei, and she doubts that the other woman knows the window for teasing that she's just created. The contented smirk that crosses Minako's face like it is second nature, and Minako leans back on the couch, stretching her legs out in front of her and wiggling her toes. "Must you?" she asks.

The confusion in Rei's eyes is completely worth the lecture she's about it get, and Minako feels her smirk slowly turning into a full on smile. "Eh?"

She is a shark, Minako realizes, slowly circling her prey. Toying with it, almost, if one were to carry the metaphor that far. "I like you in that, Rei- _chan_." She draws out the honorific, as they usually don't bother with them except for when Minako is teasing with false flattery and politeness that has never existed in their relationship. She taps her chin appraisingly and looks Rei up and down, making sure her eyes linger in all the right places to make Rei blush. "It's quite sexy."

Rei flushes bright red. She splutters out nonsense for a few seconds while Minako laughs quietly. "Idiot! What are you saying?"

Minako shrugs. "Nothing really." She's winding Rei in circles, and she's starting to realize that she loves doing this far more than anything else in the world. This was better than being an international pop star, better than being a sailor senshi, better than anything that Minako remembers from the past life. It was just a pure act of love, and she was pretty sure that Rei knew it to be the same thing. They play this game with each other because it is the only way, really, that their personalities can mesh without them wanting to kill each other.

She rests her chin thoughtfully on her hand, tapping her fingers against her cheek and grins widely at Rei. She is moving in for the kill now, and the panicked expression in Rei's eyes told her that the former fire senshi is very much aware of the fact. "Just that I like looking at you, Reiko-chan. Business attire can be quite sexy." She raises her eyebrows suggestively.

Rei's eyes are like fire, burning a path into Minako's own, piercing holes in Minako's steady resolve as she struggles to react to Minako's statement. Minako can see her searching for words, tossing possibilities around in her head as she struggles for the perfect way of telling Minako exactly _what_ she thinks of her.

"Don't call me that," Rei snaps. It's almost like a knee-jerk reaction, a carry-over from the old days when they were still unsure of what exactly it was that they felt for each other. Rei's hands clench and unclench, and she steadies herself to start to unbutton her suit's jacket. She shrugs off the garment and tosses it over the arm of the sofa. "I'm not her."

Rei looks so vulnerable, standing in stocking feet and an angry expression in the middle of her own living room. Minako wants to reach out, to touch her and tell her that everything is going to be alright, for that's all that she can do, really. She cannot fix Rei's almost irrational fear of the past life, and she will not allow it to rule their relationship in the present day.

She is not the girl that she once was, so obsessed with the past because she had no future. She is Aino Minako, and she could be there for a friend who is having trouble accepting the fact that her memories are no longer wholly her own.

Minako stands up and walks to stand by Rei. They're facing opposite directions, as they've done so often in the past, for facing the same way would hurt them so much more than this. They're diametrically opposed; they need to be apart in order to be together. She can't bring herself to touch Rei, she's almost afraid of what might happen if she does. "It's a nickname, Rei," she says simply. Minako turns to look at Rei and smiles as she can see realization dawning in Rei's eyes. "A nickname that I've given you in two lifetimes now, you should just accept that it's a part of you."

Rei crosses her arms over her blouse and frowns. "I don't like it."

Minako laughs. "I don't think you like anything."

Rei stares at her, open-mouthed. "I like…" she trails off and Minako gives her an expectant look, as if daring her to finish her sentence. "Some _things_." She's giving Minako an appraising look, as if she's trying to show just how attracted to each other they both are.

Minako reaches out and touches Rei's shoulder then. "You like stalking me," there's a smile in her voice now, and Minako hasn't felt this happy in a long time.

"I do not," Rei retorts, leaning into Minako's touch on her shoulder. "I just like knowing where you are."

Minako thinks that she can accept that reality. Their heads are almost touching now as Rei leans into her even farther. "What are you doing, Rei?" Minako asks, knowing that they're dangerously close to that forbidden territory once more.

Rei doesn't say anything for along moment. Their faces inches apart. Minako can feel Rei's breath on her face and she wants desperately to lean in and kiss those beautiful lips. She checks the reflex and waits for Rei to make the first move. She knows that in order for this to work, Rei has to make the move.

"I … want to kiss you, Mina," Rei breaths, her eyes shut tightly and her face screwed up as though she's expecting Minako to do something awful like slap her.

Minako sighs quietly and smiles as brightly as she can. Rei's still got her eyes shut, but Minako knows that Rei can feel her smile. Rei's always been good with that sort of thing, seeing people and being able to read their auras. Minako's talents – perhaps leftovers from the past life – lay in reading the emotions of others. "Then do it."

Rei's eyes snapped open and Minako can see none of the haze that had clouded them earlier in the elevator. "Are you sure?" she asked, her tone hesitant and her body already starting to move backwards and away from the closeness that they'd been enjoying.

Minako reaches down with her free hand and grab's Rei's own, leading her back to the couch. She's not going to let Rei kiss her again in a location where Rei can bolt if it doesn't go off exactly as planned. They sit down side by side once more, this time much closer to each other. "You talk too much, aren't Martians supposed to be the stoic, silent type?" Minako says, falling back into the teasing pattern once more.

"Says the brooding Venusian," Rei shoots back without leaving time for their usual insult, beat, insult style of interaction.

Minako leans in and wraps her arms around Rei's neck. Their noses almost touch and she knows that this time that the make up and tan will do nothing to hide her blush. It mirrors Rei's own, bright red and beautiful. "Shut up and kiss me," she says, kissing Rei's nose with an impish grin.

The position is awkward for kissing, but it's a lot like their relationship – all strange angles and odd looks. Minako allows Rei to take the lead once more, the former fire senshi slipping her arms around Minako's waist and pulling her in even closer as she finally allows their lips to meet.

The kiss is chaste, but everything that Minako remembers from that night all those years ago, the promise of things to come, and a good deal of something that Minako knows has a name. She will not call it that, however, for there is something oddly off about using that term to describe what she and Rei have.

Rei leans in once more and Minako allows herself to get lost in this newest form of competition between the two of them. What starts as a gentle probe of Rei's tongue against her bottom lip soon escalates into a kiss quite unlike anything that Minako has ever experienced in this lifetime.

She decides that she quite likes it.

Perhaps this time, they will finally achieve happiness.


	2. The Text Fic

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Er... Rei's part is totally trusuprise's fault, because she was all; "Minako should send Rei awful text messages," and I was all; ":D OKAY." This fic, or section of this fic, is known as 'the txt fic'.
> 
> There's a section where I use the emoticon, 'less than three'. Because fanfiction dot net is a whore, I cannot use the 'less than' symbol without the document manager eating it, so I've used the Japanese symbol 'ku' instead, which has the same basic shape. The only problem is that if you don't have Japanese language support installed on your computer, it's going to look like a '?'. Just so you know.

They part again, this time knowing that it is not for the last time – that they will see each other again in short order. Rei doesn't know how she's going to cope with the fact that Minako – _Aino Minako_ – was sleeping in her bed that morning when she returns home from work. Or the fact that Aino Minako will be coming home to sleep in her bed again tonight, if the amount of clothes strewn across her bedroom floor is anything to go by. Rei's coping mechanisms are far better equipped to dealing with her _attraction_ to Minako from a distance. She's blown her cover now, and she can't go back to hiding behind scowls and half-hidden stares.

She rests her head in her palm, her fingers cool against her forehead as she leans on the bar that divides her kitchen from the rest of her sitting room. She needs to get to work, she has so much to do before her meeting at noon, but she doesn't want to leave. If she leaves, this could all be just another dream.

The memory of Minako's lips on her own is far more real than it has ever been before, and Rei raises her fingers to bush against her lips. This is no dream, those kisses were very real.

She sighs and pushes off the countertop, heading into her bedroom to collect a new pair of shoes. It won't do to think it any more now. She has a full day at work to stress out about and Minako can come later.

She finds her shoes buried under a very lacy pair of underwear of Minako's and pulls them on. Rei tries not to scowl at the mess of her bedroom and moves out into the rest of the apartment, straightening things out and putting the breakfast dishes away. Minako insisted on washing them before she left and Rei was still trying to figure out exactly what she'd meant by that gesture. It is strange to see someone like Minako doing something so domestic, Rei isn't sure she likes it, she isn't sure of much any more.

She remembers so many things, things that make her afraid of what will happen if she allows herself to truly remember the past life. She has Mars Reiko's memories, and she is not sure that she wants them.

Rei isn't sure if she knows that Minako fell in love with her and not the picture of Mars Reiko she has in her head. She doesn't want that to be the truth, but the thoughts haunt her even after she forces them down and into the back of her subconscious once more.

She shuts her eyes and shakes her head, her bangs falling into her eyes. She doesn't have time for this; she has other things to do this morning. She grabs her keys and phone and heads towards the door, not pausing to look back into the apartment to see if there's anything that she's forgotten. She has to get out of that place and back into the world where she can forget her problems. Work has always been an escape for her, and she's more than willing to fall back into that trap once more.

Anything to keep her mind off of what happened between Minako and herself last night.

A small scrap of paper falls to the ground out of her jacket pocket as she hurries out the door, pausing only to lock it behind her. She bends to pick it up and smiles as she reads the carefully penned inscription.

 _The memories fade, Reiko, just give them time. Have a good day at work. – M_

Rei smiles and tucks the note into her pocket. Minako is always surprising her in little ways that make Rei completely forget her doubts. Theirs is something special, almost a creature onto itself. Rei shoves her hands into her pockets and walks briskly down the hall, her mind suddenly full of promise for the day.

The first message comes through during a meeting that Rei is trying to conduct about the business she was doing in China. Her phone is on the table in front of her, and it starts to buzz loudly just as she begins to speak about the observations that she made while in China. She's been working on this project for weeks now, a carefully constructed look at human rights and how her organization can work with the Chinese government to lower some of China's grievous issues in that field. Rei reaches down and picks up her phone, wondering who would be interrupting her during such an important meeting.

 _I had the most amazing ramen for lunch today. I'll have to take you to this place some time._

Rei frowns and sets her phone down, wondering what Minako is thinking, sending her a message like that. Her scowl deepens as she thinks of the self-satisfied smirk on Minako's face as she sends the message, for Minako would know perfectly well how something like this would get under Rei's skin. Not to mention the irritation that comes from being interrupted.

 _I'll get her later._

"Hino-san?" one of her supervisors asks as Rei places both hands on the table and takes a deep, calming breath. "Is everything alright?"

Rei plasters a fake smile on to her face and looks up at the man. He's one of those reedy, salary man types that actually made it to a higher place at the company, and Rei really doesn't like him. He's too pompous, thinking himself better than everyone who works under him. That wasn't how Japanese business works and Rei hates him for ruining that image for her. "Everything is fine, sir."

She stands up once more and flips the slide projector over to her presentation's slides. "As you can see, we've been doing a lot of work with the emission standards that the UN has set for the world, to be filled and completely regulated by 2025…"

The presentation carries on and Rei feels that it's going far better than she could have initially hoped for, and soon she's kicked out of the conference room and back to her small office. She's lucky to have a workplace on the ground floor, with a wide window off to one side. It's more than many starting workers in such a business get, but at the same time, Rei knows that it's because of who her father is that she gets this treatment. She wishes that she could jut be treated like any other just-out-of-college worker, but the Hino name and the way that she carries herself seem to imply that she is accustomed to her father's power.

What she is really accustomed to, however, is the feeling of flames coming her hands at will – of fighting for the planet – and for her future queen and loved ones.

She doesn't think that her boss, however, will understand that; so she lets him treat her with a certain level of respect that he does not have for many of her coworkers and struggles to move up the corporate ladder so that she can help her coworkers to have better jobs in the future.

Rei throws her notepad down on her desk and sits down heavily in her chair; her phone in one hand as she debates how best to tell Minako that she doesn't like random text messages.

Her fingers dance on the keys and soon she has a satisfying response.

 _How is that relevant to me?_

She hits the send button and sets her phone down, turning to the small mountain of memos on her desk that she has to process. From across the room, the young man she shares the office with smiles apologetically at her. "They can be really tough at first, Hino-san, but you do good work."

"Thank you," she says dismissively. She doesn't really want to talk to him.

Her phone buzzes again. Rei picks it up and frowns at the picture that appears on the screen. She has another text message, from a smiling Minako flashing her trademark V for Victory. Rei flips open the phone and wonders when Minako got a chance to put her picture on the phone. She certainly doesn't remember ever letting the idol so much as touch her phone, as Minako and technology get along much better than Rei and technology do and Rei doesn't trust the idol to not somehow blow up her phone by changing the settings.

 _It's not, I just wanted to tell you. く3_

Rei frowns, staring at the last thing that Minako had written. What did 'less than three' mean? She didn't know, and it bothered her that Minako would write something like that in a message to her when Minako was sure to know that she did not understand it. She sets her phone to the side and tries to concentrate on work, pulling pages of data towards herself. She has to compile these documents into something coherent by tonight, and she's not sure that she's going to be able to with the distraction the lunchtime meeting and the fact that she's worried about Minako finding herself alone outside Rei's door later on tonight when Rei has to stay late to finish her work.

She's never worried about something like that, and she can't fathom why she's worrying about it now. She's never worried about Minako before, but now, things have changed.

Minako will have _expectations_ , of her and of their friendship. Expectations that are very different from what Rei is used to.

Rei picks up her phone with a weary sigh. She should at least respond to Minako, it would be rude not to.

Besides, with Mars Reiko's memories have come a very strong sense of courtly manners, and _no one_ refuses correspondence from the Princess of Venus.

 _Well, don't. I'm at work and I cannot have you distracting me. I am also more than three._

Finishing the message, Rei takes her phone and shoves it into her jacket pocket, carefully slung over the back of her chair so that it doesn't get wrinkled. She will check to see if Minako sends her a message back later, right now she has to concentrate on work.

Almost an hour later, Rei is forced to stop her work by the insistent buzzing coming from the back of her chair. The man she shares her office with spins around from his chair and grins at her. "Aren't we the popular one today," he jokes.

Rei rolls her eyes at him. "It's only one person." She says, "I doubt that that means popular by any stretch of the imagination."

The man looks pensive as Rei retrieves her phone. "Perhaps, Hino-san, or maybe this one person simply wants to talk to you very badly," he chews on his lip and turns his attention back to his work. Rei is grateful that he does not pry further, because she really doesn't want to be mad at him.

Even though her coworker's back is turned, she nods and flips open her phone. Three messages are waiting for her and she feels her eye twitch slightly as she frowns moodily at the screen.

She has half a mind to simply call Minako and avoid any more of these silly messages. They are not children, nor are they in high school any more. She is a professional, and she thinks that Minako's fame makes her one as well – there should be a far clearer line of communication between them.

 _Not that we've ever been very good at that,_ the thought comes unbidden, but Rei knows that it is the truth. They are bad at talking about themselves to each other, for they'd rather argue or do other things. Talking was better left to Usagi or Ami, for they seemed to do that when they were nervous.

The two of them are… far too suborn to actually have a conversation.

Yes, that was it.

 _You know you like it._

 _It's a heart stupid._ _く_ _3_ _く_ _3_

Rei pauses, feeling very much like an idiot. She knows that Minako wouldn't mean anything by the insult, but it does hurt, like every little barb that Minako sends her way does. They play the game, insulting each other carefully so as to avoid talking about the issues that actually sit close to home for them. Minako hides from Rei and Rei hides from the idol's inquiring stares as best she can.

The memories do not help. Rei hates the fact that she's suddenly having to decide if she was in love with Aino Minako before or after Mars Reiko's memories came back. She never thought about it much before the memories started to trickle back, the night after that one kiss that Rei tries to forget because it has no meaning.

Last night, however, had a lot of meaning, far more than Rei is willing to admit.

Minako lips on her own felt like coming home, like a return of all the rightness in the world that has been missing since Usagi remade the world and they were set upon to wait until their powers were needed once again. Rei misses being able to call the flames to her hands whenever she wishes and she misses the fighting – for even still she relishes being in her element, cutting through her enemies with a pen rather than a sword. She tries to forget the cost of those battles. They were so young then, just barely fourteen years old – Ami and Minako had been fifteen – and they had the weight of the world on their shoulders.

The final message has a different tone to it, and it's a question that Rei can answer easily.

 _Am I still allowed to crash at your place tonight?_

They'd slept in the same bed last night. Rei hadn't even thought twice about it once Minako kissed her, she'd just allowed the motions of two over-tired, travel-weary people needing desperately to recover from their jet lag. They'd fallen into bed together, and had slept.

In the morning they went to work.

Rei had rather liked the quiet companionship of the morning. She wasn't averse to doing it again. Minako is going to have to clean up her mess a little bit before they go to sleep, she decides. No matter how nice it is to look at all of Minako's clothes – underwear - _lacy underwear_ \- they're distracting and all over her floor.

Someone is going to get hurt.

 _Why would I stop you? All your stuff is still strewn across my bedroom floor._

She types her answer and sets her phone down on the corner of her desk and goes back to her figures. She's making progress when the phone buzzes a good ten minutes later. Minako must be bored, or constantly checking her phone, or both. Rei can't decide. She feels almost flattered by the idea that Minako's waiting for her responses, but she shoves those emotions as far behind her as she can. She's the one that has to remain strong to protect her Mina; Minako's the one who can actually have the necessary emotions to get them both through the day.

Rei shakes her head slightly; annoyed that Mars Reiko's memories are surfacing again.

 _You're the one who keeps on insisting that I carry too much stuff around with me. Of course it'd get strewn all over the floor when I look for something to wear. Some people like their clothes to match, Reiko._

Minako had a point there, and Rei really couldn't think of something witty to say in return. She was always at a loss when it came to Aino Minako and she refused to admit it. She rather liked being surprised by the idol.

Still, she can catch the barely veiled comment about own ability to dress herself. She'd never thought her fashion sense was that bad, but she was no Aino Minako. The idol certainly did know her stuff when it came to clothes and looking positively stunning.

Rei wishes that she didn't notice those things; even though a part of her is pointing out that she's noticed them for years now. She even went so far, in the past, to tell her friends that she wanted nothing to do with men.

 _This is no time for a sexuality crisis._ Rei has always prided herself on knowing exactly what she wants, but now she is confused. She doesn't know if what she feels is for Aino Minako is actually _her_ feelings. She wants to think that it is - but she knows better than to bet against Mars Reiko interfering as only irritating past lives do.

Rei rests her head on her hands and closes her eyes, pressing the heels of her hands into her eye sockets. She wants to scream in frustration, she doesn't like playing this game with Minako.

The darkness of her hands against her eyes is welcoming and Rei finds herself pulled along by a thread of light that does not belong in her dark oblivion.

She's lost in memories, her mind taking her down into the depths of a library that she doesn't remember ever going into. She can visualize the writing now, and she finds herself following the swirls carefully as she reads what she's supposed to know already. There is a word in Mars Reiko's own language that actually defines this game that she plays with Minako, a word for what they share. Sakighulsun, it meant protector, guardian really, in Mars' ancient language. Rei tries out the word quietly under her breath, awed as the language comes back to her almost effortlessly.

She wishes that she didn't remember it.

She does not want to be the only person who cares deeply enough about Minako to have to assume that role. In the past, they were like that, fighting together only out of duty to the princess. Jupiter and Mars were at war at the time, and it had been all that Minako could do, Rei remembered, to keep the peace.

Mars Reiko had taken on the role of Sakighulsun then, knowing that it was only a matter of time until the Venusian senshi's big mouth started a war on its own.

Even that had started innocently.

Rei moves her hands away from her eyes and blinks owlishly at her phone. Minako is probably waiting for her answer. She grabs her phone and frowns at the keypad, trying to think of a response. Sometimes, Rei really has no words to respond to Minako with.

 _Some people pack lightly._

She turns her attention back to her work, determined to not lose herself in memories again. She shouldn't have to worry about this stuff; she should just be able to feel as though she's fallen in love without this extra _baggage_ attached to her every action.

The numbers are easy, she can process them without any thought and it's earning her money, unlike the torment of the memories that seem to creep up behind her and assault her with every waking moment.

Rei is pretty sure that Minako wasn't telling her everything when it came to the memories. There was no way that they could fade together with her own memories of this life the way that Minako had suggested when Rei'd asked her about it last night.

She completes another set of numbers and glances at her phone. It is still silent.

"Now you look like the scorned lover, Hino-san," the man with whom she shares an office with jokes.

Rei turns around and tried her hardest to glare at him, but he's got a point. She'd gotten used to Minako responding promptly, but she did realize that Minako had to work as well. Minako was most likely trapped in one of those production meetings that she's always complaining to Usagi about.

She sighs loudly and stands up, pushing her chair away from the desk with a loud scraping sound. She winces. She's shoving her phone into her pocket even though she's pretty sure that Minako won't get back to her any time soon, when she realizes that she's at _work_ and cannot simply leave for a few minutes. "I'm going to the vending machines," she says, not really needing to, but again falling to the dictated norms of her upbringing.

"Have fun," her coworker says, waving his hand dismissively as she stalks out the door.

Rei cuts down the hallway with a sense of purpose and direction that she doesn't think that she's had in a good long while. Minako is affecting her, making her feel more comfortable in her own skin than Rei has felt in _years_. Rei isn't sure that she likes the feelings that Minako's forcing on her – she's not sure that she can stand the idea that they might not even be her own.

Anyone else would tell Rei to just let it go, but she can't bring herself to do it. She worries about these things, turns them over and over in her head until she's found the perfect way to deny them all. She can't work her way around this, however, and it bothers her.

The vending machines are around the corner from the front door of her office, she leaves with a nod to the receptionist, and is greeted with a blast of sickeningly hot summer air. It is a sticky heat; the humidity is a lot higher from when Rei went to work that morning, and she's glad that she brought her umbrella with her. It is going to rain.

She walks quickly, for she is overdressed for this weather, and stands in front of the vending machines for a few minutes, contemplating her choices. She hasn't eaten lunch, but then again, she rarely does. Coffee would be nice, she decides, and feeds the machine her coins and selects the 'cold' option next to the coffee icon on the menu screen.

The machine clanks and spits out her coffee. Rei retrieves the can and rests it against her forehead for a minute, enjoying the cooling sensation.

Her phone buzzes and she pulls it out of her pocket, perhaps Minako is prompt after all. Idols function on their own time, and Rei knows that better than most people. She considers, briefly, the amount of time she's spent following Minako around, before flipping her phone open. She's been sucked into the idol lifestyle in the past, and she wants nothing to do with it.

Even if it makes Minako happy.

 _Some people don't live out of a suitcase for months at a time._

Rei exhales, blowing hair up and out of her mouth so that it tussles her bangs. _Typical Mina._ She closes her eyes and sighs heavily. She tucks her phone back into her pocket and pops the can open with a rather satisfying hiss.

The coffee tastes like shit, it always does from a can, but Rei drinks it thoughtfully as she walks back towards her office doors. Her pace is sluggish, for the weather is forcing her to move slowly, for moving fast is simply not an option.

She sits back down at her desk and pulls out her phone, typing out the next message quickly. It's getting to the point in the day when she really has to start working hard, or she's going to be there all night.

She searches for the words to say that to Minako, but she can find only the sharp insult that she'd thought of as soon as she'd read Minako's message.

Rei guesses that it's for the best as she sends the message, they do play the insult game so well. She hopes that Minako won't take offense to the snappish remark, even though she's said things like that to Minako very often in the past.

She doesn't know why she's agonizing over it so much.

 _Some people are trying to work._

She tosses her phone back onto her desk and pulls her keyboard towards her, typing quickly as she enters the data numbers that she'd been calculating earlier. She's got to put them into a spread sheet and something that her awful boss can actually read.

She hates her job, really. Rei hates almost everything about it. She hates having to share her office and her private workspace. She hates business trips that make her encounter people that she really _doesn't_ want to meet in airports.

Rei hates the fact that she can't seem to figure out what she feels for Minako. All she wants to do is kiss the woman silly to wipe that annoying all-knowing smirk off her face, but Rei can't bring herself to act properly around Minako.

She just gets frustrated.

She finishes a row of data and looks up to see her phone flashing that she's got a new text message.

 _Fine. I'll come get you at six. You'd better be done working._

Rei knows that there's no negotiation there, and she buckles down to get as much work done as she can before Minako shows up.

The clock reads quarter of six before long, and Rei's coworker is getting ready to go home as Rei struggles to work through the last lines of data that she's got to submit for her report on her trip. She's getting stressed, knowing that Minako's going to show up and her concentration is going to be shot to hell.

Damn that woman for being so distracting.

"Uh, Hino-san?" her coworker begins. He's got his tie loosened and his suit jacket over one arm. It's too hot outside to wear it, even if office dress code mandates that they must wear full suits even in the height of summer.

Rei turns to look at him, trying her absolute best to not glare at him. He doesn't know that she's desperately trying to concentrate, and she'd never actually come out and tell him. "Yes?" she asks. Her tone is testy and she supposes that the fact of the matter is that it's the end of the day and she simply _cannot_ sit here any more.

She has to _move_.

He raises his hand to rub the back of his neck, a slight blush crossing his cheeks. "I was wondering if you'd like to come out and get dinner with me."

Rei blinks once, and then again for good measure. She cannot believe he's asking her out.

He looks chest fallen as he hurriedly collects his things. "I'm sorry, if this is a bad time for you, I completely understand, Hino-san."

"I'm seeing someone." She blurts it out before she even thinks about what she's saying. Are she and Minako in a 'relationship'? Rei doesn't think so, but she'll do pretty much anything to avoid an awkward date with a coworker.

"I see," the blush is gone, and he just looks sad. "I guess I was too slow, then." He bowed slightly and then headed for the door. "See you on Monday, Hino-san."

 _That's right, it's Friday._

"See you," Rei says distractedly, and turns her attention back to the large collection of numbers that she still has yet to enter into the computer.

Her phone buzzes.

She picks it up and flips it open without really thinking, looking up sharply as she reads the message.

 _Look out your window._

Aino Minako has her face pressed up against the window, a goofy expression on her face and a silly little hat that's supposed to protect her identity from everyone on the street. She waves at Rei as Rei frowns at her, and gestures in the general direction of the office's main entryway.

Rei thinks that Minako's trying to get herself caught, really. That's what it has to be.

She casts another look at the minimal amount of work that she's gotten done in the past hour and reasons that she'll just come in early tomorrow and get it all done then. Her boss isn't going to care that much, when it all comes down to it, and he deserves to be made to wait because of the fact that he's even making her do this report after presenting her findings that morning.

She's not going to get any more work done today, anyway.

She collects her things from and tosses her phone, wallet and keys into her purse before folding up her suit jacket and tucking it into the bag. It's a little over-stuffed, but she'd rather not wear the jacket in the heat.

There's nothing else she can do, other than shut off her computer monitor and head out to meet Minako.

She swallows, and takes the necessary fifteen paces that put her within sight of the door. Minako's waiting just outside the door the way that Rei has herself on many occasions, waiting for Minako. She looks bored, and is fiddling with her shirt as Rei walks out the door.

Rei can see that she perks up, almost as soon as the door closes behind her and she can't help but give Minako a slight nod as they start walking up the street. There are never any needs for 'hello's between the two of them and Rei doesn't think that there ever will be. They're far too used to each other to need meaningless words to tell them both what they already know.

They're waiting to cross the street, Rei doesn't want to walk three blocks up to take the pedestrian bridge, when Rei feels the first drops of rain. She reaches into her bag and pulls out her umbrella as do many of the others waiting to cross the street. Minako moves closer, and Rei raises her eyebrows.

"I don't have one." Minako says quietly. She grins slightly and Rei braces herself for the request. This is _Japan_ , there are quite a few implications when it comes to walking under an umbrella together. Rei isn't sure that she's ready to announce to the world that yes, she is interested in Aino Minako that way. "Can I join you?"

The skies let loose then and Rei grabs Minako and pulls her close under the umbrella before she can get too wet. "I don't like sending messages on my phone," she mutters in Minako's ear as they stand pressed together. She's making her point now, Rei tells herself, so that Minako won't have time to distract her with flowery words and kisses later.

Minako is very good at distraction.

They cross the street with the mob of people that gather at the crosswalk, waiting in the sudden downpour for a chance to cross the street to safer, dryer destinations. Cars idle at the traffic light, and Rei feels herself start as Minako grabs her free hand and leans against her as they walk.

They are not dating, Rei swears.

They reach the other side of the street, and Minako pushes her sunglasses up and onto the top of her hat. She's got an eyebrow raised and is _way_ to close for Rei's comfort. Rei doesn't think that there's an inch of space between them and she can feel herself blushing brightly as Minako trails a finger down her cheek. "Really?" she asks, her breath making the closeness suddenly seem too much.

It is still very warm out and Rei doesn't really want to be so close to anyone because she feels disgusting and doesn't want to get her disgusting all over Minako's clean and fresh-smelling figure.

Minako smells good.

"Yes." Rei says, looking away from Minako.

They're standing at the entrance to the subway and Rei is realizing that there could be _riots_ if Minako's identity is discovered on the train. She turns around then, heading back to the curb to hail a cab so that they don't have to worry about the potential of being caught.

Or rather, she would have, had Minako not stepped out from under the umbrella and marched purposefully down the stairs to the subway station below.

"Oi!" Rei shouts, hurrying after the idol. She collapses her umbrella and hurries to catch up with Minako. She's weaving through the growing crowd on the platform like a pro, not bumping into anyone and not raising any red flags from the girls who have t-shirts from her last tour that are loitering near a vending machine advertising American soft drinks.

Rei frowns, reaching out to grab Minako before she can actually go through with buying a ticket from the machine. "Do you even know where you're going to have to get off?" she demands, resigned, suddenly, to the fact that they're going to be taking the subway. Minako can't know, because it was would downright creepy, not to mention far more stalkerish than Rei has ever been when it comes to her. She's got this little smile on her face, however, that seems to imply that maybe she does know, and Rei feels a slight raise in her already high temper. "Well, do you?"

Minako laughs then, and punches in the buttons for Rei's station without even looking at the display screen. "You forget that I am not completely isolated, Reiko." She takes her ticket and her credit card as the machine spits them back out and crumples up her receipt and throws it in a nearby trashcan without looking at it. "Do you want to go get something to eat before we get the train?"

The scowl seems to be permanently etched onto Rei's face as she shakes her head. Taking the subway is enough of a headache for her, and adding a restaurant to the mix, even it if is just a fast food place seems like the perfect excuse for Rei to want to curl up in a ball and die. "No," she says, her tone leaving no room for argument.

They start walking again, Rei leading the way through the crowd and down several more flights of stairs as they sink deep below Tokyo's busy streets. Rei works in the heart of the city, and she lives on the outskirts, the train ride is part of her daily routine, despite the fact that she doesn't want to waste her life away on public transportation.

Minako looks happy, Rei thinks, and she seems to be thinking quite hard as they step onto the train and walk up several cars so that they will be able to sit down. "Are you going to cook for me then?" she asks eventually and Rei has to bite her tongue before she says something positively awful to Minako.

She is not a _wife_ , she's not going to cook for Minako – she's far too tired for that.

Rei checks her knee-jerk reaction and thinks for a minute, for it would be nice to cook for the idol, but Minako's presumption is almost too much for her. "It seems that way." She says, sighing and leaning back on the hard plastic of the subway seat. She crosses her arms and looks away from Minako. "Don't expect it to be any good, though," she mutters, "I don't have the energy for a large production right now."

Minako's face lights up with a brilliant smile that the sunglasses and overlarge had do little to hide and Rei is forced to look away as that smile is infectious and she's trying to make a point right now.

The train lurches forward and Minako's suddenly a whole lot closer than she was a minute ago, pulled by gravity and perhaps a very sneaky want to be closer to Rei.

Rei shakes her head, swallowing, for the feeling of Minako's body pressed up against her is having a very unwanted effect on her and she can't afford to be distracted now. It's only a matter of time until the people in the train figure out who Minako is, and then they'll have to make a run for it.

Still, the press of their bodies together is making Rei want to just give up on her effort to protect Minako from her insane fans.

"Oh, Reiko, it's been _forever_ since I had a home cooked meal," Minako breathes in her ear. The warm tickle of her breath sends a shiver down Rei's spine and she's suddenly very alarmed at the fact that she seems to desperately crave the slightest touch of this woman who's currently leaning against her. There's not an inch of space between them and Rei is torn as to whether or not she likes it or not.

Rei swallows once more. She scoots away from Minako frowns. "Don't get used to it. I hate cooking."

She's lying, and she's pretty sure that Minako can tell.

Mina has always been able to.

They settle into silence and the train ride seems incredibly short. Rei's station is called just as she's starting to doze, lulled by the rocking motion of the train and Minako's head on her shoulder. It is a comfortable situation, and she hates to roust herself from the quiet bubble of just the two of them that they've created. They have to go, however, for this is a one way train and they can't just wait for it to circle around again.

"Minako," she whispers, her fingers on the idol's shoulder as she shakes it slightly. "This is our stop."

"Buuh?" Minako blinks sleepily, her sunglasses had fallen down her nose and Rei thinks she looks positively adorable in her drowsy state.

Rei smiles, "Come on, we're almost home."

It is still raining when they exit the station and Rei hurriedly pulls out her umbrella once again before they get wet. This time, it doesn't feel quite so awkward to walk with Minako under the small shield against the relentless summer rain, but rather comforting. They were of the same mindset, after all, and Rei likes the closeness far more than she'd initially realized. The press of Minako's body against her's is familiar and it is easy to fall into step beside the idol.

They walk the two blocks to Rei's apartment and already Rei can sense the tension between them begin to rise. She desperately wants to repeat the kiss from yesterday evening, and Minako seems to want to invade Rei's personal space even more so than she usually does.

The doorman smiles at her when she nods at him and Minako giggles behind her hand as Rei collapses her umbrella and shakes it out in the elevator. There's a question on the tip of her tongue and she's almost afraid to voice it, for fear that she'll overstep the carefully constructed silent barrier that they've both erected around the topic of what exactly their relationship is.

Rei wants to say that Minako is her best friend, but it's been obvious to her for _years_ now that both she and Minako herself want more than that. Whether they are driven by the past life or not is completely lost on Rei and she prays that they are not, since that would completely kill her drive to have a relationship with Minako that was not purely platonic.

She's been in love with Minako since the first day, and she won't admit it to anyone.

Knowing that she's just being pushed by the past life and the relationships that she had then makes her blood boil. Hino Rei wants to fall in love on her own, and she's pretty sure that she's done a good job of it. But the constant worry that she's somehow being pushed by the past life still lurks, and she hates it.

"Are we going to just keep meeting like this?" Rei asks as the elevator hums to life.

Minako shrugs. "I rather like it."

Rei doesn't need to point out that Minako almost always has an ulterior motive for these meetings because Minako's kissing her and talking seems like it has suddenly lost its place once more.

They stumble down the hallway towards Rei's apartment door, their lips and tongues joined in a furious battle for dominance. Rei fumbles for her keys and she struggles to get the right key into the lock as Minako moves from kissing her lips to sucking on her neck.

She's very distracting, even now.

A relatively short time has passed in between their last meeting and this one. It is strange to see Minako like this, on a daily basis, to have her sleep in the same bed. Rei likes being able to keep track of the idol, to know where she is at all times. She doesn't know what she's doing with Minako, or how to decipher the messages that the idol sends to her phone at all hours of the day and night. All she really does know is that she wants to be around this woman more and more with every passing moment, and she's afraid of those sensations. There are words to describe how she feels, Rei knows, but she won't use them. Minako wouldn't, and Rei will not be the first to cave.

Minako pulls her back into her apartment and pushes the door closed behind her before Rei manages to regain enough control over her body to spin the idol in her arms and force her up against the wall. Minako is better when she is not a moving target, Rei has learned. Or perhaps she's remembered, she can't really tell any more. All she knows is that she wants Minako pinned up against the wall so that she can't escape Rei's lips.

This is like their sparring in the past life, a carefully constructed environment where they can work out their frustrations on each other. Rei likes it, but she'll never admit it, for when Minako shows up, she usually loses a lot of sleep and gets very little done until the idol has to leave once more. Still, it leaves Rei stated and she does appreciate it.

A smirk grows on Minako's face as Rei shoves her denim-clad knee in between Minako's slightly parted legs. As Minako groans, Rei leans forward and presses her lips against Minako's once more, their tongues dueling for superiority without ever really knowing who the victor is. This is the one time that they can play that game and not care about the outcome, for it never really matters.

The kiss, however, does not wipe the smile off of Minako's face. Rei feels annoyance rise though her body and she turns her attention to the idol's neck, kissing her in places where she's just starting to remember - places that make Minako squirm under her.

"What are you smiling at?" Rei demands, nipping at Minako's ear, her fingers busy with the tiny buttons on Minako's jacket. She wants to feel more, to touch Minako's skin and claim ownership of it once again. The damn thing won't come undone and Rei can feel a curse in an ancient, guttural language rise and slip past her lips before she has time to catch it. She's done it now, speaking that language that she keeps on trying to forget. Fucking buttons.

Minako's eyes widen, and she pushes Rei away, saying something in that same language, the one Rei doesn't remember.

Rei can't help but respond, "I told you long ago that it didn't matter." It never did. She is not a slave to the past; she lives and loves for the present. She won't let Minako's obsession with something that happened thousands of years ago dictate her actions today. She just can't.

"Reiko," her eyes are misty and Rei steps forward once more, wrapping the idol up in her arms and promising things that she never would, under any other circumstance. She can't stand to see Mina cry, and the girl is looking dangerously close to doing just that. "Reiko, why do you hide from me?"

Rei narrows her eyes, wondering what Minako means. "I do no such thing," she's still speaking that language, the one she doesn't remember. What has changed? She can't even imagine what she's thinking right now. She's too close to this fire; she's going to get burned.

"You're always hiding, I can never find you except when I don't want to."

"Mina…ko…" She's speaking some other language now; the one that her heart tells her is the right one for the situation. This one is flowery and sing-song, like the picture of Minako that she has in her head, the carefree girl she met for the first time on the set of a game show for television. Rei likes it, even though she can't place its origin. _Venusian, the language of the high court_ , Mars Reiko's voice cuts though her reverie as she buries her nose in Minako's hair.

Rei doesn't know how to thank her, but the words flow out of her mouth effortlessly. "I-" she trails off, trying to start and knowing that she can't just come out and say it. Something like this is such a shocking admission that she can barely keep herself from crying out, and begging Minako to understand. "I don't know if what I feel is because I remember our shared past or not."

Minako's lips find her own and Rei feels herself getting lost in the sensations again. She lets Minako lead, not really caring all that much that it feel slightly backwards, and allows herself to drown in the feelings that were welling up within her.

She didn't know if they were Mars Reiko's - or her own.

Minako's tongue is in her mouth, and the idol pushing her back against the wall again. Rei can't think of what to do with her hands. She balls them in the back of Minako's shirt, holding on as if it is the only thing binding her to this plane of existence.

Rei gasps for breath when Minako pulls away, her tongue dancing along her bottom lip as she pulls it back into her mouth. Rei wonders when Minako learned to be such a tease, not to mention such a damn good kisser. She doesn't like the idea of Minako kissing anyone but herself, and she's going to have to make sure that Minako knows that before this night is over.

They're moving so fast. Yesterday it was just a tentative kiss based on something that Rei still isn't sure she understands or accepts as a present reality – today, they're acting as though they've been doing this for years.

Rei hates the fact that Mars Reiko's memories still dictate how she acts in this life. She wants to fall in love with Aino Minako on her own, and she's pretty sure that she'd done it before Mars Reiko's memories decided to rain on her parade and generally make all of her decisions ten times more complicated.

Her mind again drifts backwards, as Minako leans in for another kiss, back to a time and place where there were words for what they share. Rei cannot see herself professing her undying love to this frustrating woman, ever; it just would not work. She's too stubborn and if Minako's head is still attached to her shoulders, she already knows. Rei has no need to state the obvious.

Minako's lips brush against her's and Rei allows her hands to let go of the back of Minako's shirt. She moves to cup Minako's cheek as Minako smiles into their almost-kiss. "Do I feel familiar?" she asks. She's back to speaking Japanese, for which Rei is grateful, their conversations can only go so far in dead languages that they both pretend not to remember most of the time.

Rei has to think for a minute, because Minako has a good question and she hasn't ever considered the answer. "No…" she grinds out as Minako's hands wander under her shirt, higher this time and closer to the underside of her breasts. She still won't kiss her, and Rei is starting to get frustrated with the idol's breath on her lips and no contact other than that. It's not fair, she wants to just have Minako doing that pleasantly distracting thing with her tongue, and she has to think about a relationship. She picks her words carefully, "You feel new."

Minako leans forward then and closes the final distance between them, her free hand finding Rei's and their fingers lacing together. "Good," she says, her eyes telling a story that Rei has heard thousands of times. "I'd hate to be unoriginal."


End file.
